Explosion rocks uptown Manhattan

This is the scene of devastation after a gas explosion destroyed two buildings and killed at least eight people in East Harlem Wednesday.

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Firefighters dig through the rubble in the aftermath of the horrible explosion Wednesday.

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A van lies crushed by debris from the building collapse.

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Firefighters rush to the scene of an explosion that leveled two buildings in East Harlem Wednesday, killing at least eight people.

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Heavy smoke pours from the wreckage.

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A first responder climbs over the wreckage of what was two buildings.

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People run away from the scene of the explosion that destroyed two buildings in East Harlem Wednesday, killing at least eight people.

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Firefighters put water on the burning wreckage after the deadly explosion.

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Police guide a bystander away from the scene of the burning wreckage. The explosion is believed to have been caused by a gas leak.

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Firefighters stand on debris in the aftermath of a massive gas explosion that leveled two buildings in East Harlem Wednesday.

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A man carries his child away from the scene of the deadly explosion that destroyed two buildings in East Harlem Wednesday, killing at least eight people and injuring many more.

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A victim hurt in the gas explosion holds his head as he is transported from the scene of the deadly blast that leveled two buildings in East Harlem Wednesday.

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Alicia Thomas, left, who lived in one of the two collapsed buildings, is comforted by her friend Shivon Dollar.

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Firefighters remove a victim injured in the deadly blast in East Harlem Wednesday.

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Huge plumes of smoke rise above the city in the aftermath of the explosion and fire in East Harlem Wednesday.

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EPA

A firefighter is seen on the roof (top right) amid clouds of smoke from the still-burning buildings after a huge explosion in East Harlem Wednesday

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Firefighters survey the scene following the explosion in East Harlem Wednesday.

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A firefighter directs the effort to extinguish the fire and search for survivors in the aftermath of an explosion in East Harlem.

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A van near the blast site is covered with debris from the deadly explosion in East Harlem.

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The devastated buildings are seen behind clouds of smoke as firefighters try to extinguish the fire in the aftermath of the blast in East Harlem Wednesday.

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A victim is evacuated by emergency personnel near the Harlem building collapse. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said a major building explosion, which killed at least eight people in Upper Manhattan, appeared to be caused by a gas leak and other people were still missing.

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A police officer wears a protective mask as he warns bystanders away from the scene of the building explosion Wednesday.

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A man shields his child in a blanket to protect against the smoke following the deadly building explosion in Harlem Wednesday.

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A firefighter uses a flashlight against heavy smoke as rescuers search for victims in the aftermath of the building explosion in East Harlem Wednesday.

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Police use protective masks to guard against smoke from the burning buildings.

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Firefighters battle the blaze after a pair of buildings exploded in East Harlem Wednesday, killing at least eight people.

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Firefighters use tower trucks to get water on the still-burning building from above.

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Workers examine the train tracks as firefighters try to extinguish the blaze following an explosion that destroyed two buildings in East Harlem Wednesday, killing at least eight people.

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Firefighters attack the fire from the roof of a neighboring building.

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Firefighters work to put out the smoldering wreckage.

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Robert Miller

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A worker walks along the Metro-North tracks strewn with debris from the explosion.

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Paul Martinka

Paul Martinka

Paul Martinka

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Rescue workers remove an injured person on a stretcher after an explosion and building collapse in East Harlem Wednesday.

Train service on two Metro-North lines has come back to Grand Central Terminal after an explosion in East Harlem left it suspended for almost five hours.

The New Haven and Harlem line are starting to run trains again after the railroad’s structural engineers verified that the elevated tracks were stable and safe near 116th Street and Park Avenue, and test trains were run.

Their trains will use the tracks again, but will move at slow speeds in that area because of concern by FDNY that their vibrations could destabilize the two collapsed buildings further.

The Hudson line has not yet been restored, and riders will have to travel to the Bronx for service.

Riders can take the 4 or D to 161st Street, then walk to the Metro-North station at Yankees-East 153rd Street.

Those heading south are also asked to go to Yankees-East 153rd Street, where they can transfer to the subway, or catch the 1 near the Marble Hill stop.

The MTA said there were no stranded trains Wednesday.

An MTA bus was near the explosion when it happened, and a window was broken. The bus driver was not hurt, and there were no passengers on the bus.

Riders took to Twitter to talk about the beleaguered railroad’s bad luck.

“This building collapse is obviously not their fault, but if it weren’t for bad luck, Metro-North would have no luck at all,” tweeted @NeilBhatiya, a policy associate at the Century Foundation.

Jenna Hansen, a 19-year-old Maine cosmology student said she could get fired from her housekeeping job if she doesn’t make it tomorrow.

She had traveled to New York City for a beauty show. “No matter what, I have to get home tonight,” she said. “I have to get to work tomorrow. It was really hard to get a couple of days off to come here so if I ask for another day off, they’d probably fire me.”

Her friend Cassandra Del’Aauilla, 21, said she wasn’t happy with the railroad’s communication. “I asked what’s happening. The woman at the window said ‘I don’t know.’ I had to ask the police officer, and he told us a building collapsed. She was very rude.”